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Codex Desktop for Windows 26.519.2081.0 turns blank white after ChatGPT login #23795

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Codex Desktop for Windows 26.519.2081.0 turns blank white after ChatGPT login#23795
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appIssues related to the Codex desktop appauthIssues related to authentication and accountsbugSomething isn't workingwindows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems

Description

@marui2nd2pixiv2nd-prog
marui2nd2pixiv2nd-prog
opened on May 21, 2026

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

Codex Desktop 26.519.2081.0

What subscription do you have?

Pro

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26200.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Environment

  • OS: Windows
  • Codex Desktop version: 26.519.2081.0
  • Package: OpenAI.Codex_26.519.2081.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
  • Subscription: Pro
  • Sign-in method: ChatGPT account
  • Codex Cloud/Web works with the same account and the same project.

Issue

After updating Codex Desktop for Windows, the app becomes a blank white window after ChatGPT login.

The app can show the login screen if I rename/disable auth.json, but after signing in with ChatGPT, it returns to a blank white window.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Launch Codex Desktop for Windows.
  2. The app opens to a blank white screen.
  3. Kill all Codex.exe processes and restart Codex.
  4. The blank white screen remains.
  5. Rename/disable C:\Users\<user>\.codex\auth.json.
  6. Launch Codex again.
  7. The login screen appears.
  8. Click "Continue with ChatGPT" and complete sign-in.
  9. After login, the app returns to a blank white screen.

Expected behavior

After ChatGPT login, Codex Desktop should show the project/task list and existing chats.

Actual behavior

After ChatGPT login, Codex Desktop shows only a blank white window.

What I tried

  • Killed all Codex.exe processes and restarted the app.
  • Checked the installed package version with PowerShell.
  • Renamed/disabled auth.json.
  • Confirmed that the login screen appears after disabling auth.json.
  • Logged in again with ChatGPT.
  • The app became blank white again after login.
  • Ran Windows app "Repair".
  • The issue did not change.
  • I did not delete the entire .codex directory.
  • I did not delete .codex\sessions.
  • I did not reset the app data.

Important observations

  • Codex Cloud/Web works with the same account and the same project.
  • The same project can run tasks normally in the browser.
  • This does not look like project or repository corruption.
  • This looks related to the Desktop app post-login UI/profile/workspace/feature-flag state.

Previous related behavior before the white-screen issue

Before this update, Codex Desktop partially worked with Default permissions, but:

  • Full Access could not send messages.
  • Auto-review could not send messages.
  • The "Set up agent sandbox" button looped back immediately.
  • Pressing the sandbox setup button did not update C:\Users\<user>\.codex\.sandbox\sandbox.log.
  • Older sandbox.log entries showed codex-windows-sandbox-setup.exe completed with errors=[] and command-runner executions succeeded.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

  1. Launch Codex Desktop for Windows.
  2. The app opens to a blank white screen.
  3. Kill all Codex.exe processes and restart Codex.
  4. The blank white screen remains.
  5. Rename/disable C:\Users\<user>\.codex\auth.json.
  6. Launch Codex again.
  7. The login screen appears.
  8. Click "Continue with ChatGPT" and complete sign-in.
  9. After login, the app returns to a blank white screen.

Additional context:

  • Codex Cloud/Web works with the same account and the same project.
  • The same project can run tasks normally in the browser.
  • I did not delete the entire .codex directory.
  • I did not delete .codex\sessions.
  • I did not reset the app data.

What is the expected behavior?

After ChatGPT login, Codex Desktop shows only a blank white window.

The app itself launches, and the login screen appears if auth.json is renamed/disabled. However, after completing ChatGPT login, the Desktop app returns to a blank white screen.

Killing all Codex.exe processes and restarting does not fix it.
Windows app "Repair" also did not fix it.

Additional information

  • OS: Windows x64
  • Codex Desktop version: 26.519.2081.0
  • Package: OpenAI.Codex_26.519.2081.0_x64__2p2nqsd0c76g0
  • Subscription: Pro
  • Sign-in method: ChatGPT account
  • Codex Cloud/Web works with the same account and the same project.

Before this white-screen issue, Codex Desktop partially worked with Default permissions, but:

  • Full Access could not send messages.
  • Auto-review could not send messages.
  • The "Set up agent sandbox" button looped back immediately.
  • Pressing the sandbox setup button did not update C:\Users\<user>\.codex\.sandbox\sandbox.log.
  • Older sandbox.log entries showed codex-windows-sandbox-setup.exe completed with errors=[] and command-runner executions succeeded.

Activity

  1. marui2nd2pixiv2nd-prog
    added
    appIssues related to the Codex desktop app
    on May 21, 2026
  2. github-actions
    added
    bugSomething isn't working
    windows-osIssues related to Codex on Windows systems
    authIssues related to authentication and accounts
    on May 21, 2026

  3. Malfarion commented on May 21, 2026

    @Malfarion
    Malfarion
    on May 21, 2026

    on the same page. Any workaround?

  4. InjeongLeeL commented on May 21, 2026

    @InjeongLeeL
    InjeongLeeL
    on May 21, 2026

    I am experiencing the same issue on Windows. Codex Desktop opens to a blank white screen. Rebooting, reinstalling, and repairing/resetting the app did not fix it.

  5. Malfarion commented on May 22, 2026

    @Malfarion
    Malfarion
    on May 22, 2026

    Found this in log

    2026-05-22T07:00:10.132Z error [electron-message-handler] [desktop-notifications][global-error] TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'length')
    at m (app://-/assets/use-is-fast-mode-enabled-CwUgvZ2O.js:1:539)
    at Array.some (<anonymous>)
    at v (app://-/assets/use-is-fast-mode-enabled-CwUgvZ2O.js:1:1198)
    at Zk (app://-/assets/app-main-6eJsY3Xy.js:2:470734)
    at Co (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:47530)
    at gc (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:70017)
    at Nc (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:80292)
    at Mu (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:115666)
    at ku (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:114749)
    at Ou (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:114588)
    at gu (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:111457)
    at ld (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:123093)
    at id (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:121653)
    at od (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:121927)
    at app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:123146
2026-05-22T07:00:10.150Z error [electron-message-handler] [desktop-notifications][global-error] Error: Missing AppServer request message handler
    at Object.sendRequest (app://-/assets/app-server-manager-signals-Csopz8aM.js:23:471)
    at It (app://-/assets/app-server-manager-signals-Csopz8aM.js:23:583)
    at app://-/assets/review-runtime-bridge-mOvTlYSg.js:1:17244
    at Uc (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:92045)
    at Ll (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:109827)
    at Pl (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:109065)
    at Fl (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:109247)
    at Uu (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:119707)
    at Hu (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:119507)
    at Bu (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:119289)
    at Lu (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:117351)
    at _u (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:112517)
    at gu (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:112023)
    at ld (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:123093)
    at id (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:121653)
    at od (app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:121927)
    at app://-/assets/review-file-source-tab-DIwKFrdc.js:9:123146

  6. marui2nd2pixiv2nd-prog commented on May 22, 2026

    @marui2nd2pixiv2nd-prog
    marui2nd2pixiv2nd-prog
    on May 22, 2026
    Author

    Update:

    The issue has been resolved on my side.

    Before the latest update fixed it, I was able to recover the Desktop app by repairing the local Codex runtime state with Codex CLI. The likely cause seemed to be a mismatch between the Codex Desktop GUI and the local app-server / primary runtime.

    What I did:

    • Stopped the process that was locking the plugin/runtime files:

      • extension-host.exe

    • Moved aside the Chrome plugin cache:

      • chrome.bak_20260521_112533

    • Moved aside the old primary runtime:

      • codex-primary-runtime.bak_20260521_112533

    • Restarted Codex Desktop and let it regenerate the runtime.

    • Re-tested with a clean launch that did not inherit an old CODEX_CLI_PATH.

    After this repair:

    • The primary runtime was regenerated as 26.520.11634.
    • The Desktop app-server started as 0.131.0 instead of the older 0.128.0-alpha.1.
    • remoteControl/status/read succeeded.
    • The previous white-screen trigger, Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'length'), no longer appeared in the latest logs.
    • window ready-to-show and app routes mounted were also present.

    There were still minor warnings left, such as:

    • One chrome@openai-bundled plugin cache lock warning.
    • An unsupported auth_elicitation feature flag warning.

    However, the main issue appeared to be fixed after regenerating the runtime.

    Important note:

    Launching Codex Desktop from a shell/session that inherited an old CODEX_CLI_PATH may reproduce the mismatch. Launching Codex Desktop normally from the Start Menu was safer in my case.

    After the later official update, the issue also appears to be fixed normally for me.

    I am leaving this here in case it helps others who hit a similar blank-screen / GUI-runtime mismatch issue on Windows.

  7. Malfarion commented on May 23, 2026

    @Malfarion
    Malfarion
    on May 23, 2026

    Update:

    The issue has been resolved on my side.

    Before the latest update fixed it, I was able to recover the Desktop app by repairing the local Codex runtime state with Codex CLI. The likely cause seemed to be a mismatch between the Codex Desktop GUI and the local app-server / primary runtime.

    What I did:

    • Stopped the process that was locking the plugin/runtime files:

      • extension-host.exe

    • Moved aside the Chrome plugin cache:

      • chrome.bak_20260521_112533

    • Moved aside the old primary runtime:

      • codex-primary-runtime.bak_20260521_112533

    • Restarted Codex Desktop and let it regenerate the runtime.

    • Re-tested with a clean launch that did not inherit an old CODEX_CLI_PATH.

    After this repair:

    • The primary runtime was regenerated as 26.520.11634.
    • The Desktop app-server started as 0.131.0 instead of the older 0.128.0-alpha.1.
    • remoteControl/status/read succeeded.
    • The previous white-screen trigger, Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'length'), no longer appeared in the latest logs.
    • window ready-to-show and app routes mounted were also present.

    There were still minor warnings left, such as:

    • One chrome@openai-bundled plugin cache lock warning.
    • An unsupported auth_elicitation feature flag warning.

    However, the main issue appeared to be fixed after regenerating the runtime.

    Important note:

    Launching Codex Desktop from a shell/session that inherited an old CODEX_CLI_PATH may reproduce the mismatch. Launching Codex Desktop normally from the Start Menu was safer in my case.

    After the later official update, the issue also appears to be fixed normally for me.

    I am leaving this here in case it helps others who hit a similar blank-screen / GUI-runtime mismatch issue on Windows.

    Works for me. Thank you

  8. ax-openai commented on Jun 12, 2026

    @ax-openai
    ax-openai
    on Jun 12, 2026 – with ChatGPT Codex Connector

    Closing as resolved.

  9. ax-openai
    closed this as completedon Jun 12, 2026
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